Vehicle shaft-support.



Patented Jan.19, 1915.

VEHICLE SHAFT SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED MAK.-7, 1914.

E. E. ATKINSON & c. P; OVERMYER.

INVENTO F I; v

EZA Q d U/mrZasKOver ATTORNEY UNITED STATES P T T onnicn, f

EDWARD E. ATKINSON AND CHARLES F OVERMYER, 0F NORFOLK, VIRGINIA. v

VEHICLE SHAFT-SUPPORT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, EDWARD E. ATKIN- SON and CHARLES F. OVERMYER, citizens of the United States, residing at Norfolk, in the county of Norfolk and'State of Virginia, have inventedv a new and useful Vehicle Shaft-Support, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvementsln devices for supporting vehicle shafts and poles. 1

The object of the present invention 1s to improve the construction of vehicle shaft supports and to provide a. simple, lnexpensive, and efiicient device of light, strong, andv durable construction, 7 designed for use on various styles of vehicles for supporting a pole or shafts elevated and out of the way, and capable of securely holding them in such position and of being readily operated at either side, without the useof operating cords to lock a pair of shafts or thills in an elevated position, and also to release the same. v

.A further object of theinventionis to provide .a-shaft support of this character adapted. to permit a" pair of shafts to be readily released by a simple upward movementoof theshafts, without manual manipulation .of .an operating device, whereby the shafts may be lowered for hitching a horse to a vehicle without necessitating a person releasing his grasp on the vanimal during suchhitching-operation. a H

M It is also-an object of the invention to provide a noiseless shaft support which Wlll not rattle when the vehicle is traveling over a .rough road way, and which .will afford increased strength to the vehicle.

-With theseand other objects in view the invention consists in the construction and novel combination ofparts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it beingunderstood that var1- ous changesin-the form, proportion, size and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claims, mayv be resorted to without'departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the'advantages of the invention.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is a.plan view of a portion of avvehicle provided with a shaft support constructed in accordance withthis invention, the. shafts being lowered Fig. 2=is a longitudinal sectional view of the-same,xthe shafts being supported in Specification of Letters Patent.

of the lower plate or Patented Jan. 19, 1915. Application filed March 7, 1914. Serial No. 823,236.

hearing bracket. Fig. 6 is a detail perspec- 1;;

tive view ofthe movable hook or catch. Fig.

7 is a detail view, illustrating the manner of dlsengaglng the movable hook or catch from the fixed catch or keeper.

Like numerals .of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawing. -In the accompanying drawing, in which is il lustratedthe preferred embodiment of the invention, 1 designates a transverse rock 51f:

shaft preferably constructed of a single and side bearing brackets 2 and 3 located in rearof the cross bar 4 of a pair of shafts or is provided with a central integral movable hook or catch 6 adapted to be conveniently formed by doubling-and bending the rod piece of rod metal, and mounted in central .thills5. The transverse shaft 1, which may T be constructed of relatively light rod metal,

metal, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6 of the 1%? drawing, but the movable hook or catch,

which is carried by the transverse shaft, may be constructed in any desired manner. Thehook or catch 6 is adapted to engage with a relatively fixed catch or keeper 7, and -'i"..

the terminals of the transverse shaft are bent at right angles to form suitable operating handles '8' which are located at opposite sides of thevehicle within convenient reach of-a person standing at either shaft 5.

The central bearing bracket comprises up per and lower plates or members 9 and 10 located beneath the cross bar 4 and secured to the same by the pivot bolt 11, which se- The upper and lower plates or members 9 and 10, which project rearwardly beyond the'cross bar 1, are also secured together by a bolt 13, and they are provided with registering slots or bifurcations 14. and 15 to receive the movable hook or catch 6. The upper plate 9 of the bearing bracket is curved or arched at opposite sides of the bifurcation 14 to form bearing portions 16 which extend partially around the transverse shaft 1 at opposite sides of the movable hook or catch 6, and the said shaft 1 is confined in the recesses of the bearing portion 16 by the lower plate 10. The upper plate 9 is preferably provided at itsfront end with an up- .cures the swingle tree 12 of the cross bar 4.

cross bar to the shafts or thills. The'upper and lower plates 19 ,ands20 project'in rear of the cross bar 4 and are secured together by a bolt 23 located'in rear of the cross-bar. The front end of the upper plate 19is preferably provided with an'upwarfdly extending portion or arm 24: fitted against-and'secured to the front face of the crossbar f by a screw 25 or other suitable fastening device. The rear or terminal portion-26 of the upper-plate 19 is arched or bent to form a bearing for the transverse shaft 1, which is confined in such bearing'by a rear terminal portion of the lower plate 20. In order to prevent noise and rattling of the transverse shaft 1 in the-central and side bearing brackets, the latter are equipped with strips-27 and 28 of leather or other suitable material, doubled at their centers to encircle the central and terminal portions of the transverse shaft 1 and having their side portions fitted against each 'other to provide two plies or'thicknesses interposed betweenthe upper and lower plates of the central and side bearing'brackets, and extending from the rear bearings thereofto the front ends of the brackets. The flexible strip of the central-bearing bracket is bifurcated at its loop or bend to straddle the movable hook or catch. The yieldable material of the flexible strips is adapted tobe slightly compressedby the'nuts of the bolts of the bearingbrackets, and the pressure resulting from the yieldable character of the flexible strips will tend to lock the nuts of the bolts and prevent loss ofthe same. Also, the flexible strips yieldably engage the journaled portions of the transverse shaft l, and are adapted to maintain the same against free rotary movement in the bearings, and this enables the movablecatch or hook to be maintained out of engagement with the fixed catch or keeper to permit the shafts-to be swung downwardly when they are released, without liability of the hook dropping back 'into engagement with the fixed catch or keeper.

The fixed catch orkeeper, whichmay'be shaped to conform to the configuration of different styles of bodies of vehicles, preferably consists of a substantially L-shaped body or attaching portion 29 fitted against the front and bottomof the vehicle'body 30, and secured at the bottom of the'body by bolts 31 or other suitable fastening means tobe-supported by the front spring '33, and

it extends from and rests upon the bar 34 to which the spring is secured, and with which the body is connected at the terminals of the said bar 34. This construction of the ffixed catch or keeper .is especially advantageous in'the class of'vehicles having the front :s1 )ring 33, and the :fixed catch or keeper constitutes aloracket and provides a' central third connection between the "body of the vehicle and the spring-,thereby increasing the strength of the vehicle, andrelieving the body of thestrain 5 which ordinarily results "from supporting the shafts or thills from a catch mounted on the body: and havlng no COTlDGCtlOII with the running gear.

'lVhen it is desired to ,supportthe shafts or'thills'inan "elevatedtposition, they are swung upward to "the position illustrated in Fig. 2 of "the drawing, and the movable hook or catch isengaged with thetupwardly projecting relatively {fixed catch or keeper 7'. As the transverseshaft-1 extendsvacross the space between the shafts, the movable catch or hook maybe operated at either side of the vehicle, and when it is in engagement with the fixed catch or keeper, the shank of th-e movable catch or" hook is arranged in-front of the-said 'catch'or'keeper at an inclinationsocthat'the shafts or thills are adapted to E be swungupwardly ,orxrearwardly beyond such supported position, which upward or rearward rnovement will operate='to"lift-the hook or catch t'othe'position illustrated in Fig. '7 of I the "drawing.

ilhis'action carries thebill or engaging portion of the. hook or catch-above the fixed catch 'or keeper, and the frictional engagement between the bearing bracket and the transverse shaft 1 will maintain the movablehook or catch in such disengaged position, and will enablethe shafts or'thillsto Fb'e swung downwardly for hitching a *horse to the'vehicle. willobvi-ate the necessity of holdingthe catch or-hook-out of en- 'gagement with" the fixed catch or 4 keeper by hand, and "theshafts or thill s may be lifted at anypoint within convenient reach 'to release them, thereby "greatly facilitating "the operation of'hit'ching a stubborn or "fractious animal, and enabling the aniinalito be placed in proper position infront of the vehicle and the'shafts or thillsl-owered'without a personfireleasing his hold on the animal. When the movable hookorcatch is in engagement withgthe fixed catch Orkeeper,

the shafts; orthills are securelyisupportedin an elevated position "out ofthe way, and there is-no liability of the hook or catch becoming accidentally disengaged from the fixed catch or keeper.

What is claimed is:

1. A support of the class described, including a transverse shaft provided with a movable hook or catch having a shank, hearing brackets having bearings receiving the transverse shaft and provided with yieldable means for frictionally engaging the shaft to prevent free movement of the shaft in the bearings, and a fixed catch or keeper designed to be mounted on a vehicle in rear of the shaft and arranged to be engaged by the hook or catch for maintaining the shaft or pole of a vehicle in an elevated position, the shank of the hook or catch being arranged at an inclination and located in ad Vance of the catch or keeper when the hook or catch is in engagement with the same, whereby a rearward movement of the hook or catch will lift the engaging portion there of, which will be maintained out of engagement by the bearing brackets.

2. A support of the class described, in cluding a fixed catch or keeper, a transverse shaft having a central hook or catch, central and side bearing brackets composed of upper and lower plates, one of the plates of each bracket being curved to form a bearing for the shaft,.and the central bracket being slotted or bifurcated to straddle the wall or catch, and flexible strips secured in the brackets between the upper and lower plates and extending around the transverse shaft to prevent free movement of the same in the said bearings.

3. In a support of the class described, the combination with a vehicle including a body and a front spring extending across the body, of a movable catch or keeper, means for securing the same to a pole or a pair of shafts, and a fixed catch or keeper comprising a lower rearwardly extending portion secured to the bottom of the body, an upwardly extending portion arranged at the front of the body, and an arm extending forwardly from the vertical portion and provided with an upwardly projecting portion arranged to be engaged by the movable catch, said arm projecting over and supported by the said front spring, whereby the latter sustains theweight of the body and relieves the same of pole or shafts.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our own, we have hereto aflixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD E. ATKINSON. CHARLES F. OVERMYER. Witnesses:

WILLIAM PRAOK, WILLIAM FINLEY.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, I). G.

the strain of the 

